Meta Fined Over $100M by EU for Password Security Lapse

Meta has been fined over $100 million by the European Union's Irish Data Protection Commission after an investigation revealed that some Facebook user passwords were stored in plain text. The watchdog started its probe in 2019. Meta claimed it took immediate action to fix the error and reported it to the regulator.

Meta was fined over $100 million by the European Union's privacy regulator on Friday due to a security lapse involving Facebook users' passwords.

The Irish Data Protection Commission imposed a 91 million euro ($101.6 million) penalty on the US tech giant after a thorough investigation that began in 2019. The investigation was initiated after Meta notified the watchdog that certain passwords had been stored internally in plain text, making them accessible to employees.

Deputy Commissioner Graham Doyle highlighted that storing passwords in plain text is considered unacceptable due to the potential risks of abuse. Meta stated that the issue affected passwords of a subset of Facebook users, which were 'temporarily logged in a readable format.' The company asserted that they took immediate corrective measures and found no evidence of misuse. Meta has previously faced substantial fines from the Dublin-based regulator, including penalties for mishandling teen data on Instagram and issues with WhatsApp and transatlantic data transfers.

(With inputs from agencies.)